PUTTING FIENDS ON I.C.E.
NYC roundup nets druggies, pervs, thieves
They are rapists, child sex offenders, thieves and drug dealers.
The 41 undocumented immigrants swept off New York City’s streets form a rogues’ gallery of convicted criminals — including many who had already been deported and slipped back in to the US, officials said Friday.
Their capture by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had prompted immigrant advocates and some New York politicians to declare that the agency was “terrorizing” communities and rounding up hardworking members of society.
But of those arrested, 38 had criminal convictions.
“It’s 100 percent great that they are kicking these criminals — particularly the sexual predators — out of this country,” a federal official close to the situation told The Post. “They don’t belong here.”
Seven of the undocumented immigrants had been previously deported from the US but sneaked back in, federal sources said.
And many more have been convicted of serious crimes, ranging from rape to robbery.
Two men — a 49-year-old from Jamaica and a 60-year-old from Mexico — had been convicted of sexually assaulting a child under age 11.
Three others, including a Bronx man and a Queens man, have rape convictions.
A 31-year-old citizen of El Salvador who was arrested in New Hyde Park, LI, was said to be a “self-admitted MS-13 gang member” and had been convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon.
“New York is a safe place with these criminal aliens under arrest,” the federal official said. “They shouldn’t have been here in the first place.”
Others arrested in the roundup had been busted for crimes including larceny, burglary, endangering the welfare of a child and cocaine possession.
Three were women. Ten had been convicted of driving under the influence.
“This operation targeted public-safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, and individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” ICE said in a fact sheet on the operation.
“Some of the individuals arrested during this operation will face criminal prosecution by the US Attorney’s Office for illegal re-entry after deportation.”
ICE announced last week that more than 680 people, mostly criminals, had been rounded up in operations across the country.
The sweep unnerved some immigrant communities, but ICE officials have said they do not “indiscriminately” target immigrants at checkpoints.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly described the operations as “routine” in a statement released Monday.
“Of those arrested, approximately 75 percent were criminal aliens, convicted of crimes including, but not limited to, homicide, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual assault of a minor, lewd and lascivious acts with a child, indecent liberties with a minor, drug trafficking, battery, assault, DUI and weapons charges,” he said.
“President Trump has been clear in affirming the critical mission of DHS in protecting the nation and directed our department to focus on removing illegal aliens who have violated our immigration laws, with a specific focus on those who pose a threat to public safety.”